ACN, PDP kick as tribunal upholds Mimiko’s victory

The three-member Ondo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Friday upheld the declaration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko as the winner of the October 2012 governorship election in the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had on October 21, 2012, announced Mimiko as the winner of the poll, which was widely adjudged as free, fair and very credible by local and foreign election observers and monitors.

Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Andovar Kaka’an dismissed the petitions of Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu of the Action Congress of Nigeria and Chief Olusola Oke of the Peoples Democratic Party for lacking in merit.

Kaka’an added that the petitioners and their witnesses failed to prove beyond reasonable doubts, allegations of irregularities, violence and non-compliance with the Electoral Act pleaded in the suits.

Kaka’an also ruled that the issue of illegal injection of voter register allegedly carried out by the Independent National Electoral Commission was a pre-election matter that should have been challenged at a high court before the October 20, 2012 election.

He said since INEC had supplied soft copies of the voter register 30 days before the poll to all parties in the election, anyone who discovered any form of irregularity should have approached a high court to complain.

The panel also dismissed the reports of the expert witnesses of the petitioners, because apart from the fact that their submissions were discovered not to be factual, they confessed during cross-examination that their services were not at the instance of the court.

Kaka’an further held that there was no evidence supplied either by the petitioners or their witnesses to justify the fact that the 164,072 names allegedly injected into the 2012 register by INEC was done in collaboration with the Labour Party, whose candidate won the poll.

He added that there was no proof to show that either Mimiko, who won the poll, or his party benefited from the alleged injection of the register with illegal voters.

He said the expert witnesses confessed during cross-examination by counsel to the defendants that they carried out their assignments for financial considerations and that their clients needed their report to substantiate claims in their petitions.

He declared that all the submissions of Akeredolu and Oke in their petitions and the evidences of their witnesses were “bundles of primary and secondary hearsay, which failed woefully to substantiate their claims.

The panel chairman said the petitioners were inconsistent and failed to substantiate their allegations with adequate proofs.

He said, “The petitioners failed woefully to prove their allegations of crimes allegedly perpetrated during the poll by the defendants beyond any reasonable doubts.

“No single witness testified that he or she did not vote or that the votes were taken away to unauthorised places after the election while no police report, which indicated violence during the election, was tendered by any of the parties.

“The issues relating to the voter register are pre-election matters which the tribunal has no jurisdiction to entertain.”

The tribunal also carpeted the petitioners for their failure to extend pleadings to all the polling units in the state while none of them brought a single voter card or ballot box to the court to prove their allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2010.

He stated that none of the witnesses called by the petitioners actually witnessed the commission of crimes during the election by the defendants but relied substantially on information from their friends and party members.

He, therefore, dismissed both suits for lacking in merit and their inability to prove all allegations raised beyond reasonable doubts.

However, both Akeredolu and Oke had said their legal teams had been directed to start a fresh process to appeal the judgment.

Oke said, “The ruling fell short of the expectation of the Ondo State people and we shall challenge it at the Court of Appeal.

“The party is not surprised as we had earlier reported the compromising attitude of this panel, when it erroneously struck out the name of our party and vital paragraphs of our petition, which we challenged at the Appeal Court and our prayers were upheld.

“We are consulting as a party with our candidate, Chief Olusola Oke and the national leadership of the party and our legion of counsel on the next step we are going to take.”

Akeredolu, through a statement by the Publicity Secretary of the ACN in the state, Mr. Rotimi Agbede, also expressed his resolve to head for the appellate court.

He said, “It is rather unfortunate that the trial judges chose to close their eyes on the overwhelming oral and documentary evidences presented by the petitioners even when INEC principally refused to defend itself at the tribunal.

“The ruling of the tribunal, no doubt, had put the judiciary on trial in the open court of the people who relied heavily on the courts to dispense justice without fair or favour.”

But Mimiko said the verdict had confirmed that the Nigerian judiciary was living up to its role as the final impartial arbiter in all contentious matters.

He said, “We, as government, are mindful of the onerous task of meeting the development challenges of our people; we know that the fostering of understanding between the government and the people will engender a more conducive environment for the deepening of the dividends of good governance.”

since the right to seek redress in the temple of justice, is inalienable, it will be foolhardy to advise the defeated gubernatorial candidates otherwise. i do hope too that mimiko will be magnanimous in victory. what we ondonites want is the basics; good roads,water,health and education. that wouldn’t be too much to ask for or is it?

Aris

Congrats once again the people’s governor.True to type, your oppo nents in the election will never accept defeat despite the overwhelming evidence that you won the poll fair and squarely. I will urge you to focus your
attention now on making life more meaniful for the good pple of Ondo state.Ignore the desperadoes for they will fail again.

Dr Pat Kolawole Awosan

Ondo State people unianimous voted and re-elected the performing state governor Dr Olusegun Mimiko on october 20,2012 and his mandate stands till 2016.

Congratulations Dr Mimiko and your team.Please,remember to remind Ondo State Ministry of Works and Housing roads rehabilitation and construction department to
complete the abandoned Adinlewa St[11]/Koseunti/Irekari/Layout area roads which
were embarked upon but abandoned since 2012,on the excuse that the allocated
funds for the completion of the roads-project by your government as released to Ministry of Works and Housing had been misappropriated and diverted/spent
on other unrelated needs of the department in the Ondo State Ministry of Works and Housing.

Your excellency,Dr Mimiko please assist our community to complete our roads project as you personally pledged before CAC-Koseunti-Church when you visited CAC-Koseunti after your first innaguration over four years ago.

We have jubilated the day he won election. But he should revisit the list of the sacked local govt workers to absorb back some people that are wrongly sacked. He should also employ people legitimately. Please remember Oka odo in Iwaro-Oka transformer. We want progress. Keep it up. Congratulations.

Chibello

You need help!

otito

NO JUBILATN BCOS PEOPLE EXPECT NOTN ELSE THAN DAT JUDGMENT.

JOLIE

Iroko u get mouth…congrats once again! I rep ONDO BOI

ST RAPH

These opposition parties and their candidates will never accept defeat because of arrogance .I can see they pursue the case to privy court not supreme.

Titiladunayo Daniel

Congrats to Iroko, I feel we should forget about this delay tactic called “tribunal” cos 6 months after the elections which most people say was free and fair we are still struggling to establish its legitimacy… NIGERIA!!!

http://www.facebook.com/babatunde.ereola.5 Babatunde Ereola

It is generally believed that political parties rig where they are strong,evidence abound especially in the 2nd republic.This same ondo state is an example during the 2nd republic.The election was adjudged to be free and fair even by the international observers.Opposition parties should allow sleeping dog to lie.

ayobami

mimiko can sleep with both eyes since d dirty salami is out

Kunle Orafidiya

Rotimi Akeredolu needs to be reminded that ACN’s ally- dirty, corrupt Ayo Salami – is no longer PCA and will never return to that seat to sell judgements again.

jomo

people should accept defeat in good faith.ACN and PDP have been defeated,they should accept it.the people had spoken,yet they were not happy,they went to the tribunal,the latter asserted the LP victory.what else do they want?these people can even sue GOD;habba enough of this,in sport there is always a winner and a looser.GO AND STRATEGISE FOR THE NEXT ELECTION!!!!!!

The end will justify the means! This is a purchased judgement! We saw it coming almost immediately after the inauguration of the panel! With the support of the oga at the top, nothing is almost impossible! Judiciary has been enmessed into politics, rivers state scenerio is another pointer!

canopy1

My advice to the petitioners. Stop this madness of yours and allow the relative peace and transformation being enjoyed and witnessed in Ondo State presently to continue. Do not plunge Ondo state into a state of anarchy by your desperate bid to rule because you too won’t be spared. Do not harden your hearts so as to avoid the wrath of God and curses over your own heads. A word is enough for the wise. It is well.

BlackieUmukoro

ACN, bad losers anyday. This is just the beginning of the end for their ojoro party in the south west

Olusola Adegbemile

Election has come and gone in Ondo State. Either directly or indirectly, realistically or mysteriously, the good, the bad and the ugly that constituted the Election Petition Tribunal have decided to the best of their abilities. However, take it or leave it, one thing is clear. What we see all around us is a lie, no more. There is a long way to go to the bottom of things. We don’t have to take what we see as regards the current political development in the State for the truth of the world, for the secret of things can’t be seen by the eye. In a questionable democracy, people get the type of questionable government they deserve!